Prep for Sunday: First reading

And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. Then he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient." And Moses took the blood and threw it upon the people, and said, "Behold the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words." - Ex 24:6-8

First impression: the NAB translation we'll hear on Sunday uses the verbs "splashed" (on the altar) and "sprinkled" (on the people) instead of the more general - and visceral - term "threw." This online interlinear translation uses "sprinkled" in both instances.

I've always related the blood of Jesus to that of the Passover lamb with which the Jewish people's doorways were marked in Egypt. This passage reminds us that there is so much more of the Hebrew salvation history that Jesus fulfills beyond just its best-known stories. It is not necessarily clear from the context that this reading is the first Day of Atonement, which the Jewish people still celebrate today as Yom Kippur. There is a great explanation in a Messianic context here. Jesus has fulfilled all need for sacrifice, and it is shortsighted to overlook this importance of his most precious Blood - even if blood sacrifice has always been a symbol intended for our benefit - on the feast of his Body and Blood.

(more later?)

Transforming (phase 4) - Jesus appears to the disciples on the road to Emmaus (step 30) - session 1d

Lk 24:13-36 (cont.)

Again, another thought or two to tack onto the end of yesterday's post.

but they constrained him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent." So he went in to stay with them. - (29)

Sometimes the circumstances of our lives present us with ample reason to let Jesus pass us by. On occasion, that happens even when those circumstances are the result of his intervention. Now, Jesus is always with us through the Holy Spirit, so it is even easier for us to fail to orient ourselves toward his presence, to fail to request to linger a while with him. When we make such choices, we are not robbed of the discussion and revelation we may have received along the way, but we do cheat ourselves of the deeper encounter that he desires (for our sake) to share with us. So for us, the plea is not so much "stay with us" as "our agenda beckons us; help us to stay with you."

When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. 
And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight. They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?" And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem- (30-33a)

Having share the scriptures with them, Jesus now breaks the bread. It is again the model for our Eucharistic celebrations to this day.

Why did he vanish out of their sight? I can think of several reasons. The first is that, now having had their eyes opened, they no longer needed to see him.  Secondly, perhaps they needed to process between themselves the full picture of the events of the day. This is part of why group scripture study is so powerful: when we allow the Holy Spirit to bring our individual experiences into a group discussion, we obtain a clearer picture of what the Lord may want all of us to understand. A third reason is that, had he remained, they would certainly not have been so quick to return and share the news.

Occasionally, we also get a burning experience of God's presence with us. I can think of a number of times I have felt so blessed. One such time is when we experience the liberating power of Jesus' death and resurrection setting us free from some bondage we have always known. This is why I love both the charismatic renewal and the Unbound deliverance ministry; both bring this power to bear in the lives of those who have been knotted up.

They found the eleven gathered together and those who were with them, who said, "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"  Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. - (33b-36)

I'll have to look at the other gospels, but I believe that only Dr. Luke records Jesus' appearance to Simon apart from the other disciples. Don Francisco gives us a glimpse what that might have been like in He's Alive, although scriptures don't describe it; I believe, though, that Simon surely must have needed such a healing encounter with the risen Lord.

Sadly, too few of us recognize Jesus, either in his holy Eucharist or in his presence with those with whom we break bread every day.

Confirming (phase 3), - The Last Supper – Second Part: The last discourses of Jesus (step 23) - session 3

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you

Jn 14:15-31

If you love me, you will keep my commandments. - (15)

Only if Jesus is really the Son of God are these not the words of a manipulative control freak! Because he is, we know that what underlies these words are a deep love and a knowledge that God only commands what is best for us and for all of his beloved children.

And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you. - (16-18)

We are never alone, and in particular, we are always in the presence of eternal God, not just in his general omnipresence, but also because we are specifically indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Many of us do not ask the Spirit to manifest his (her/its; I'll use the one with which I'm most comfortable and won't mind if you do the same) presence and power in our lives. We have this idea that because we have the Spirit we are free to go about our lives in the normal ways of the world, when the God's great desire for us is that we allow the Holy Spirit to move in us in ways that transform us. He wants to pour gifts through us that make all the difference in our faith walk and in the lives of our brothers and sisters. Okay, more on the Spirit as we approach Pentecost. But for now, even as we see our Savior walk to his death for us, we are not left desolate.

In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. - (20)

The time I'm most aware of this truth is during Mass. I love that Fr. Dave invoked the Communion of Saints tonight at the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper. At every Eucharist, we are united with God as we consume him, and are likewise united with everyone who ever has taken or ever will take part in this heavenly feast and sacrifice.

 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, "Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?" 

Jesus answered him, "If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me does not keep my words; and the word which you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me. These things I have spoken to you, while I am still with you.- (22-25)

Humility facilitates the movement of God in our lives. When we insist that we know best and ignore what God has revealed, or attempt to bend it to our own preconceptions of how life should be, we hinder the movement of God through our lives. It isn't that God is incapable of working in us by some limit of his omnipotence, but that he loves us too much to violate our free will. But when we humbly submit to his plan for us, he does more than we could ever dream of.

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. - (26)

Again, I'm sure there will be later opportunity to consider the roles of the Holy Spirit, but I often find that he reminds me of a key scripture passage or prompts a deeper understanding of some aspect of our faith walk just when I need it most.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. - (27)

The world offers us the absence of conflict and sells it to us as peace. It insists that we compromise our integrity and stifle the gospel, and markets it as peace. It presents us with a tenuous ceasefire and trumpets it as peace. It uses fear to motivate us to sell ourselves short, to settle for less than we are in Christ, and when we do it rewards us for having accepted peace. But in the face of fear or of conflict, Jesus offers us the assurance that we are his for all eternity, that our foe is also beloved, and we have the confident assurance to be who he dreams for us to be in him. That is peaceful, right down to the core of our being.

If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. - (28b)

When we love another, we want what is best for our beloved. I think of the friends to whom I have bid farewell and as they have moved on, and of the family members who are walking in God's love for all eternity. I rejoice for their sake, and in our unity in the Holy Spirit (see above), even as I so wish that I could see them smile and hug them close once again.

I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me - (30)

And he has no power over us, either, for we have our eternal victory in Jesus Christ.

I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. - (31b)

We talk all the time about how Jesus gave his life because he love us, but we don't much consider how Jesus himself kept the two greatest commandments in proper order in his own life. Yes, he loved us, as himself. But he loved the Father with all his heart, all his mind, all his soul and all his strength. The expression of his love for us on the cross is even more an expression of his love for the Father. Likewise, the saints' and martyrs' greatest sacrificial acts toward those around them have likewise always been inspired by the Spirit and rooted in the love of God.

Confirming (phase 3), - The Last Supper – First Part (step 22) - session 6

1 Cor 11:17-34

We close this step with the Last Supper account provided by St. Paul, and the retreat provides more context by including more verses than those we will hear during mass tonight, it is a good idea to consider them in the larger arc which follows. Many of us are familiar with chapters 12-14 of this great epistle. In chapter 12, St. Paul talks about the pervasiveness of the Holy Spirit in every believer and the diverse gifts the Spirit provides for the building up of Christ's body, the Church. Chapter 13 is the one we hear from at many weddings, emphasizing that no spiritual gift is in its proper place without being rooted in love, and takes time to expound on love's characteristics, which the reading of this session makes clear that the Corinthians were missing in their gathering and in their relationship with one another in the Church. Chapter 14 is probably best known in charismatic circles, where the operation of the spiritual gifts must be kept in proper order or our gatherings descend into our personal agendas. Even if these may be legitimately God's will for our lives, sometimes we mistakenly try to impose them on our entire group.

So this discussion is kicked off by the verses for this session:

But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. - (11:17)

This sets a serious tone for the conversation that is to follow. This is to be a direction adjustment for their gatherings. The subsequent verses speak of the factions that have arisen and the disregard that members of the church have for others' circumstances or needs (18-22) and for their gifts (chapter 12). To convey the severity of this problem, St. Paul then invokes the Last Supper (23-26), and the institution of the Eucharist, which had already by this time been recognized as more than a mere remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice but rather as an actual participation in it. This was compatible with the millenia-old participation of the Jewish people in the Passover by their celebration of the meal, in which they remember that "this is the night on which we" - not our forefathers, but we ourselves - "were delivered from our slavery." So likewise, in our partaking of the bread and wine of Eucharist we participate in the sacrifice by which he delivers us from the death of our sin into new life in him. But the Corinthians were failing to understand the depth of there remembrance, treating it as a casual recounting of decades-old events, failing to properly esteem one another as co-recipients of this unfathomable gift of grace, and failing to appreciate the ways that God is at work in their fellow believers, judging themselves as more important than others.

How often do we judge our fellow believers in similar ways? The use of St. John's account in tonight's liturgy is intended to address that, and understanding this wider context of the reading from St. Paul may help me grasp that more fully.

Confirming (phase 3), - The Last Supper – First Part (step 22) - session 5

Lk 22:14-23

St. Luke alone recounts two of the cups of the Passover meal. Scott Hahn says there were four cups; the modern seder also has four, but this ceremony wasn't formed until 70 A.D., so apparently the traditional Passover meal that preceded it also had four cups. A quick Google search indicates that these represent the four periods of exile.

At a quick glance, it appears that only Luke records Jesus telling the disciples that he earnestly or eagerly desires to eat this Passover with them. He is clearly talking about the meal itself rather than his own sacrifice, because he says "before I suffer." (15)

Also, St. Luke alone refers to a "new covenant in my blood," as opposed to "my blood of the covenant." Both phrases seem to strike at the same meaning. Too, St. Luke refers to the cup as "poured out for you," whereas Matthew and Mark say "poured out for many." Together these form the current formula of the words of consecration: "poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins."

If I try to expound on the idea of Jesus as the Passover Lamb who must be consumed I am going to fail to do it justice. But when we eat his flesh and drink his blood we are participating in his fulfillment of the ancient covenant which the Lord gave to his people when he delivered them from their slavery, when the blood of the Passover lamb caused the angel of death to pass over them.

It is late, and I am tired, but I am glad to complete my day with these thoughts.

Confirming (phase 3), - The Last Supper – First Part (step 22) - session 4

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you;  for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.  I tell you I shall not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." 

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. - Mt 26:26-30

We don't get this account of the institution of the Eucharist at the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper. But I think that the Church is very wise to give us St. Paul's summary of this event - which is not much shorter than St. Matthew has recorded - as the epistle reading so as to underscore the importance of serving each other by using the washing of the disciples' feet as the gospel reading.

There will actually be a session on the Corinthians reading later in this step (so no link here), but in the chastening context in which St. Paul recounted it, which is a longer reading than we'll have at mass.

I always assumed that the Passover meal Jesus shared with his disciples was a seder. I've learned this week that the seder wasn't instituted until 70AD. Nonetheless, the unleavened bread and the wine were both important elements of the Passover supper, and for Jesus to redirect them for us is profound beyond our understanding, even if we grasp the original intention of these ritual elements. As Catholics, I think we contemplate too little how the details of salvation history all point to Jesus, and that leaves us ill equipped to appreciate why the Eucharist is what we proclaim it to be. I am not significantly better about this area of exegesis than other Catholics are.